Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime: A Quilt Finish

Stepping off the front porch to pick some fresh fruit for breakfast is one of my favorite simple summer pleasures. Raspberry and blueberry bushes line the front of our house, with more bushes in the backyard. The raspberries have been producing for several weeks, but the blueberries are just coming on. Nothing beats some just-picked berries in a bowl of oatmeal, a cup of yogurt, or hot muffins or scones.

Our nectarine tree was looking really promising this year, but alas, all the fruit disappeared one night, almost certainly thanks to a 'coon. The same thing happened with our cherries, though we were able to collect a bowlful of the first to ripen before the varmint discovered them one night.

Inspired by these and other lovely summer fruits, I made a wild and crazy summer quilt I've called "Fruit Salad."

Fruit Salad quilt

The pattern is called Summer Slice, and it's available free from Cluck, Cluck, Sew. (Yes - this is the third pattern I've used from that site! I really like Allison Harris's simple, modern, and fun style!)

Since there's such a riot of color, I kept the quilting simple with a basic all-over meander pattern.
Once it was washed, it took on a lovely, crinkly texture. 

All the fabrics were left from other projects, especially my granddaughter's Christmas jackets (featured here and here), so the only thing I had to buy was the backing.  As I've been doing recently for throw quilts, I again used a non-pill fleece for the backing. This options is less expensive than batting and fabric, but yields a wonderfully cozy quilt, just right for snuggling under, say on a wet, cool summer evening.